Guinness Premiership, ESPN reach rights agreement

14 December 2009 11:33

By

ESPN

Premier Rugby and ESPN have agreed a three year contract for exclusive live rights to 43 matches per season from the Guinness Premiership, beginning next season and running through to the 2012-2013 season.

The multi-year deal brings 43 live matches to ESPN in UK including exclusive live coverage of the Guinness Premiership Final and one of the two semi-final matches. The agreement also provides highlight rights for use on ESPN digital media such as ESPNScrum.com.

Jon Varney, Commercial Director of Premier Rugby said:

"This deal with ESPN secures a partnership with one of the world's leading broadcasters, who become yet another blue chip supporter of club rugby in England.

"Starting next season, our new television deals mean we have doubled the number of live televised Premiership matches, which will further raise the profile of the sport in the UK and overseas and will allow our clubs and sponsors to derive even greater exposure and value. It also means supporters have more chance to see their team on live television.

"ESPN are renowned for their innovation and we are all genuinely excited about the opportunity of working with them to drive value in both our businesses."

"The Guinness Premiership is among the very best UK sports competitions, with a passionate fan base and top quality competition. We're thrilled to add it to our programming schedule and know that it will deliver great value for fans, advertisers and our partners."

The world's most competitive rugby union competition, the Guinness Premiership is the top division for club competition in England.

From its beginnings as the Allied Dunbar Premiership in 1998, the league has established itself as a top global rugby union league and evolved into its current format with relegation to and promotion from the second-tier Championship.

It features the 12 leading clubs in the country. Its regular season runs from September to May and comprises 22 rounds of matches. The teams play each other on a home and away basis during the regular season with the top four sides qualifying for the semi-final.

The top two sides are guaranteed home advantage in the last four with the final staged at Twickenham Stadium.

The agreement adds to ESPN's coverage of rugby in the UK, where it also delivers live coverage of French Top 14 Orange Rugby.

ESPN also recently announced an agreement to show archive matches and footage from each of the six Rugby World Cup tournaments to date on ESPN Classic in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The content will be featured on the channel in the coming months and will continue in the run-up to Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, and beyond.

The Guinness Premiership joins an ESPN programming lineup that is rich in top-quality, exclusive sports.

Launched in August, ESPN features top live football from around the world (Barclays Premier League, FA Cup, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, UEFA Europa League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Liga, German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese Liga, Russian Premier League and MLS) as well as UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship, Top 14 Orange rugby, Australian Rules Football (AFL), NHL, NBA, Major League Baseball and more.

Head Coach Johan Ackermann is under no illusions about the task in hand as Gloucester continue their Aviva Premiership campaign at Worcester on Saturday, the Warriors coming off the back of a fine win at Exeter last weekend.

Skipper Willi Heinz told GRTV that he was proud of his team's commitment in the 24-17 Aviva Premiership win over the Leicester Tigers at Kingsholm, but also in the brand of rugby they played in testing conditions.

The Aviva Premiership returns to Kingsholm on Saturday with Gloucester Rugby taking on the Leicester Tigers (kick off 2:30pm). Head Coach Johan Ackermann is anticipating a challenging game against a talented Tigers squad.

Jeremy Thrush described captaining Gloucester as 'awesome' and a privilege despite Saturday's 31-19 Anglo-Welsh Cup defeat, explaining that the team had set out to play good rugby and enjoy themselves and he felt that they'd achieved that at times.

Speaking after Gloucester bowed out of this year's Anglo-Welsh Cup with a defeat at Newcastle on Saturday, Head of Academy Richard Whiffin praised his team's efforts at Kingston Park but pinpointed a lack of accuracy which contributed to a win for the Falcons.

It's a short hop up the M5 for Gloucester Rugby on Saturday as they continue their Aviva Premiership campaign at Sixways against the Worcester Warriors, and the Cherry and Whites make two changes to their starting line-up.